Principal Engineer – MPU BootROM Lead

Job Title

Principal Engineer – MPU BootROM Lead

Role Summary

Lead development of secure boot and Root of Trust (RoT) for a 64-bit RISC-V application-class MPU SoC platform. Work on firmware, boot ROM, and platform security enablement across pre-silicon, FPGA, and first-silicon phases.

Collaborate with architecture, hardware, OS/BSP, and validation teams to define and implement secure boot flows, firmware/handoff, and developer-facing SDK releases.

Experience Level

Senior. Targeting candidates with approximately 10–13 years of experience in low-level firmware, secure boot, and SoC platform bring-up.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include design, implementation, validation, and documentation of secure boot and platform security features.

• Design, implement, and maintain a production-quality secure boot and Root of Trust stack for a 64-bit RISC-V MPU platform.
• Enable and harden boot and firmware stack components: BootROM/FSBL, early platform initialization, U-Boot, OpenSBI/firmware handoff as applicable.
• Integrate security at OS level: kernel/BSP integration, device tree updates, reserved memory regions, firmware interfaces, and secure/non-secure boundaries.
• Develop and debug platform security components and drivers (crypto accelerators, key services, secure storage, lifecycle/provisioning, anti-rollback, attestation hooks).
• Create tests and perform pre- and post-silicon validation on FPGA and first silicon; root-cause issues across hardware, firmware, and kernel.
• Produce integration and developer-facing documentation, bring-up notes, and release validation collateral as part of SDK deliveries.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, tools, and experience. Nice-to-have items are listed separately.

• Must-have: 10+ years of experience in low-level firmware/boot software, secure boot, and Root of Trust development on SoCs.
• Must-have: Expert-level C programming and ability to read low-level firmware and kernel-adjacent code.
• Must-have: Strong Linux internals knowledge (boot flow, memory management/MMU basics, privilege/isolation concepts) and system-level debugging.
• Must-have: Hands-on SoC/platform bring-up experience with ownership of boot-stack quality.
• Must-have: Experience with U-Boot, Linux kernel, Device Tree, and Yocto/Open Embedded or equivalent build systems.
• Must-have: Debugging tools experience: GDB and at least one of OpenOCD/JTAG, Lauterbach, or similar.
• Must-have: Experience working on FPGA, emulation, or early-silicon platforms for bring-up and validation.
• Nice-to-have: RISC-V (RV64) security experience or exposure to other application-class CPU security architectures (ARM TrustZone/EL3).
• Nice-to-have: Experience with OpenSBI, secure monitor/firmware layers, early-boot isolation mechanisms (PMP/sPMP/IOPMP), CI/CD for automated validation, and pre-/post-silicon validation workflows.

Education Requirements

B.E./B.Tech or M.E./M.Tech in Computer Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or a related field (as stated in the posting).

About the Company

Company: GlobalFoundries

Headquarters: Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

GlobalFoundries is a leading contract manufacturer for the global semiconductor industry, with facilities in multiple countries, including the USA. The company develops a broad portfolio of semiconductor technologies and employs around 13,000 people worldwide. GlobalFoundries focuses on enhancing competitiveness in specialized application solutions and fostering innovation in mobile communications, consumer electronics, and automotive applications.